1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tool for extracting a specific contact terminating a specific miniature lead from a receptacle receiving a dense grouping of such leads. While the disclosure is generally directed to the description of a tool utilized for gaining access to, removing, and subsequently replacing a contact for a coaxial lead, the scope of the invention is not intended to be limited only to coaxial leads and their contacts but to all types of electrical leads and their contacts which are part of a dense grouping of such leads and contacts. Accordingly, all references herein to coaxial leads and their contacts are illustrative only and are not to be limiting of the invention.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Requirements of backplane interconnections for electronic data processing and telecommunications applications call for ever increasing numbers of electrical leads to accommodate an ever larger number of signals within a given unit of space. At the same time, the space limitations are ever decreasing with the result that there are ever denser groupings of such leads. This has led to extreme miniaturization which has made it more and more difficult to locate and extract an individual lead when it becomes necessary or desirable. A similar difficulty is experienced when it becomes necessary or desirable to reinsert an individual lead in the proper location of the receptacle to which the grouping of leads is connected.
A typical electrical connector assembly is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 254,436 filed Oct. 6, 1988, of Michael Lazar and Rocco Noschese, entitled "Controlled Impedance Plug and Receptacle". According to the foregoing disclosure, a terminal is mounted to the extremity of each of plurality of leads, which may be coaxial leads, and is removably received in an associated terminal receiving bore with a locking spring which is utilized to prevent inadvertent removal of the terminal but which is subject to manipulation to enable purposeful removal of the terminal. Such purposeful removal, which is desirable from time to time, has become difficult at best and well nigh impossible when attempted manually with the lead densities currently being practiced.